In this day and age, residents throughout the US in cities large and small can live stream their city council meetings to allow for greater transparency in city government. However, it's not the case in Webb City, Missouri. KRPS's Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.
Webb City is best known for its high school football team, who has captured a Missouri best 16 state titles, and less so for its government transparency. The last agenda updated on Webb Cities website was for the meeting on Monday, October 24.
The council meets bi-weekly and would have held a minimum of three meetings since that date, not including work sessions or possible quorums. According to Missouri State Statute 610.020, "all public bodies must give notice of the time, date and place and agenda of a meeting in a way "reasonably calculated" to notify the public, and they must do no later than 24 hours before the meeting."
Also, the community doesn't live stream, video record, or record the audio of the sparsely attended council meetings for playback. At past meetings, Webb City Mayor Lynn Ragsdale has openly mocked nearby communities that live stream and record council meetings saying that it makes them look bad.
The town's next scheduled city council meeting is Monday, December 12, at 5:30 pm. For 89 9 KRPS, I'M Fred Fletcher-Fierro
